Theme

We chose the theme of Culinary week in Martinique. This week is a lot like some competitive cooking shows. It's from May 10th to May 16th. Martinique thrives off of tourism and during Culinary week you can visit Martinique and get to enjoy the sights along with the amazing food!

Beverage: Pineapple orange drink

Utensils:

1. Tablespoons
2. Dry measuring cups
3. Liquid measuring cups
4. Pitcher
5. Saucepan (large)

Ingredients:

21 cups water
10 1/2 cups orange juice
1 3/4 cup pineapple juice
10 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 cup sugar


Directions

In a large saucepan, combine the water, juices and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Serve warm or transfer to a pitcher and chill until serving.

SERVES: 30

Appetizer: Tomato fritters

Utensils:

1. Dry measuring cup
2. 1 teaspoon
3. Knife
4. Cutting board
5. Bowl

Ingredients:

Fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped -- 12 cups
Parsley, chopped -- 3 bunch
Mint, chopped -- 3 bunch
Scallions, minced -- 24 each
Oregano, dried or fresh -- 6 teaspoon
Salt and pepper -- to season
Flour -- 9 cups
Baking powder -- 9 teaspoons
Oil for deep frying

Method

Mix the tomatoes, herbs, scallions salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Mix the flour and baking powder together well, then stir into the tomato mixture to make a thick batter that holds its shape in a spoon. Add a little water if too thick, a little more flour if too thin.

Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet over medium-high flame. Drop small spoonfuls (about 2 tablespoons) of batter into the hot oil and flatten out slightly. Fry on one side until brown, then flip and brown on the other side. Drain on paper towels and repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve hot or at room temperature.

SERVES: 30

Salad: Martinique Fruit Salad

Utensils:

1. One chef knife
2. Cutting board
3. Bowl to mix fruit
4. One tablespoon

Ingredients:

5 banana, peeled, sliced into bite-size pieces
10 kiwi fruits, peeled, sliced thick
5 large navel orange, peeled, sectioned, cut into bite-size pieces
5 fuji apple, cored, cut into bite-size pieces
5 cup green grape
5 cup strawberry, small (or halved)
5 cup fresh pineapple, cut into bite-size pieces
10 tablespoons 'old' rum

Directions:

1. Place the prepared fruit in a large bowl & sprinkle the rum over it.
2. Cover with aluminum foil & refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

SERVES: 30

Entree: Seafood- Bisque de Cribiches

Utensils [For entree, sweet potatoes, and green beans]:

1. One tablespoon
2. Liquid measuring cup
3. Saucepan
4. Mortar
5. Small mixing bowl
6. Whisk
7. Cutting board
8. Chef's knife

Ingredients:

20 Tbsp. butter
10 lbs. crayfish, cleaned and shelled
5 onions, finely chopped
10 cloves garlic, chopped
5 small peppers, hot (left whole)
20 cups water
5 cups coconut milk
10 egg yolks
Salt, to taste

Directions:

Heat butter in heavy saucepan and add crayfish, onion and garlic.

Saute over medium heat until crayfish have changed color, about 5 minutes.

Add hot pepper and water.

Cover and cook at a gentle simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove and discard fennel and hot pepper.

Remove crayfish and pound in a mortar and push through a fine sieve or reduce to a puree in an electric blender with a little of the stock.

Return pureed crayfish to saucepan, add coconut milk and heat through.

Beat egg yolks with a little of the soup and stir into saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the soup is lightly thickened.

SERVES: 30
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Martinique sweet potatoes

Ingredients

30 sweet potatoes
3/4 cup and 3 tablespoons olive oil
30 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
15 sweet onion, thinly sliced
3-3/4 cups fat-free sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Scrub and dry the sweet potatoes, then prick several times with a fork and place onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and bell pepper; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue cooking and stirring until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 20 to 30 minutes more.
Split open the baked sweet potatoes and top with the onion mixture, salt, pepper, and a dollop of sour cream.

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Martinique Green Beans

Tender green beans - 15 pounds, stem ends trimmed
Extra virgin olive oil - 30 tablespoons
Shallots - 15 cup, coarsely slivered
Garlic - 90 cloves, slivered
Homemade chicken broth - 11 1/4 cup defatted
Ripe plum tomatoes - 90, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Fresh thyme leaves - 30 tablespoons
Salt - to taste
Black pepper – to taste, coarsely ground
Limes - 45 fresh, halved, for serving

Directions
Making:
1. In a large pan, bring water to boil.
2. Add the beans and cook for 3-5 minutes until just crisp-tender.
3. Drain and rinse with cold water.
4. Drain again and keep aside.

Finalizing:
5. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
6. Stir in shallots and garlic.
7. Cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables wilt.
8. Pour broth and cook for about 7 minutes until the shallots become soft.
9. Add tomatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper.
10. Cook for another 3 minutes.
11. Add the cooked green beans; toss and fold to mix well.
12. Cook for the final 2 minutes.
13. Adjust seasonings to taste.

SERVES: 30
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French Bread

4 cups bread flour
2 teaspoon active quick rising dry yeast
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water

1. Put 1/4 cup of bread flour on your clean counter top and reserve. Place remaining 3 3/4 cups bread flour in your mixer bowl. Spoon the yeast on one side of the bowl, and the salt on the other side. Pour in the warm water and with your regular mixer paddle, mix on low speed until the dough comes together in a mass. Switch to the
dough hook. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Dough should clear the sides but stick to the bottom. If it is too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. If too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water to dough to adjust.

Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

2. Turn the mixer on again and mix for 3 minutes. Take the dough out and place on the counter. As you knead the dough by hand, incorporate more flour as you need.
Knead by hand until the dough is very satiny, smooth, tight and formed into a nice, compact ball.

Place this dough in a large lightly oiled bowl (I use Pam spray). Turn dough over so that all sides have a thin coating of oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm place for 1 1/2 hours to let rest and rise. Dough should almost double in
size. While the dough is rising, about 1 hour into the rising stage, preheat your oven to 450F and place your pizza stone, inverted baking sheet or covered cast iron pot into the oven to heat up.

4. After the dough has risen fully, punch dough down and form back into a ball. Poke your finger on the surface – the dough should give into the pressure and slowly creep back up.

5. Cut the dough into half – you’ll shape one half at a time (keep the other piece under wraps) Pick up the dough – stretch it out until it forms a big rectangle. Dust your work surface with flour and fold over the ends of the dough.


Now do a little “karate chop” lengthwise down the middle of the bread and stretch out the long ends again. Fold over in half. The karate chop helps get the middle tucked inside. Pinch all sides shut. This is important – you want to make sure that all ends including the short ends are pinched tightly to create a seal. This allows the bread to rise & expand up and out evenly.

6. Turn the bread over so that it is seam side down. Cover the loaf with a damp kitchen towel. Repeat with the other dough ball. Leave the loaves to rest on your well-floured pizza peel or cutting board for 30 minutes. After resting, take a sharp paring knife and make 3-4 shallow, diagonal slashes on the surface of the loaf. This allows the steam in the bread to escape so that it expands evenly during the baking process.

7. When you are ready to bake, remove your baking vessel from oven. Carefully slide the gorgeous loaf into or onto your baking vessel. If you are using pizza stone or inverted baking sheet, you can probably fit both loaves on it at the same time if you wish. Get a 1/2 cup of water ready next to the stove. Open the stove, put your bread in the oven and throw the water on the oven floor. Immediately close the oven door. This creates your steam. Bake 20-25 minutes. Check temperature of the bread – internal should be 190-210F. Remove and let cool before cutting into it.

Tips: If you are using a long cast-iron pot or covered baker: -> Before closing the lid on your pot/baker, put 1/4 cup of water directly in the pot.
Cover immediately. Put pot in oven. -> Bake 10 minutes. Remove lid of pot. Bake another 14 minutes. Check temperature of the bread – internal
should be 190-210F. Remove and let cool before cutting into it. Repeat with other loaf. (For convection ovens- bake 8 min covered, 10-12 min uncovered.
Check temperature of bread)

SERVES: 30

Dessert: Caramelized Banana Tart

Utensils:

1. Rolling pins
2. Baking sheets
3. Tablespoons
4. Dry measuring cups
5. Skillet
6. Whisk
7. Ruler
8. Barbeque brush
9. Knife

Ingredients:

70 ounces all-butter puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator
5 large egg yolk mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons water
25 small, just-ripe bananas, halved lengthwise
7 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 cup sugar
30 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
10 tablespoons water
Sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to a rough 10-by-15-inch rectangle, then trim it to a neat 9-by-14-inch rectangle. Using a ruler, cut a 3/4-inch-wide strip of dough from each side; you will have 2 long and 2 short strips.

Transfer the rectangle to the prepared baking sheet and brush with the egg wash. Set the strips on each side to form a border, pressing firmly to help the dough adhere; brush the strips with the egg wash. Freeze the tart shell until chilled, about 10 minutes.

Prick the bottom of the tart shell all over with a fork. Bake in the lower third of the oven for about 40 minutes, until the shell is puffed and golden. Press down the center of the shell slightly. Increase the oven temperature to 425°.
Rub the bananas with the lemon juice. In a skillet, cook the sugar over moderate heat, stirring until melted.

Cook without stirring until a medium-amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; whisk in the butter, vanilla seeds and water. Add the bananas and gently turn to coat with the caramel. Arrange the bananas in the tart shell, cut sides up, leaving most of the caramel in the skillet. Drizzle 1/4 cup of the caramel over the bananas.

Bake the tart for about 20 minutes, until the bananas are slightly tender. Let cool slightly, then serve with whipped cream or ice cream, passing the remaining caramel on the side.

SERVES: 30

What's on the menu?

We have a wonderful menu set up with delectable foods from Martinique for you.

Beverage:
Pineapple Orange drink
Not only does this drink look good it tastes great too. The combination of sweet pineapple and tangy orange mixed in with tart lemon gives you a party on your taste buds.

Appetizer:
Fine green parsely, oregano, scallions, and fresh tomatoes combine to give you an amazing start to your meal.

Salad:
A salad made with wonderful fruits found in Martinique; it includes strawberries, bananas, pineapples, oranges, kiwis, apples, and green grapes.

Entree:
Seafood- Bisque de Cribiches
Crayfish saute'd over medium heat then simmered with onions, peppers, garlic, egg yolks, and sweet coconut milk. It gives it a sweet yet spicy taste that will have your mouth watering for more.

Roll:
Lovely, freshly baked French Bread served warm. It goes wonderfully with your Bisque de Cribiches

Starch:
This colorful and mouth watering treat with soft sweet potatoes baked to perfection and topped with tender glazed onions and julienned red bell peppers will lead you into blissfulness.

Veggie:
Tender green beans mixed with shallots, garlic, tomatoes, and thyme give you an unimaginably delicious veggie to go with your meal.

Dessert:
Fall in love with ripe bananas rubbed with fresh lemon juice and coated in caramel in a tart shell served with Vanilla ice cream on top.